IMPORTANCE OP STOPPING. 399 



by all intelligent foresters. Mr. BUlington pointed out their 

 importance in 1835, thus showing how low the art of arbori- 

 culture had at that time fallen, for they were well known in 

 the days of Miller and Duhamel, and were carefully observed 

 by the great Norfollc planters when the author was a boy. 



When trees are young, most, except Conifers, have a tendency 

 to form bushy heads, or many branches of equal strength ; and, 

 when neglected, such plants are long in forming timber, if they 

 ever do form it; and they seldom produce a clean straight 

 trunk. In order to meet this evil pruning is had recourse to. 

 A. cuts off the upper limbs, B. prefers the lower, while C. is 

 satisfied with nothing less than tlie whole. "What they would 

 do if they considered well the nature of plants would be — 

 nothing at aU, except stopping or breaking back a few laterals 

 while in a growing state. When branches are removed much 

 of the vigour of a tree is removed too, its power of growth is 

 more or less impaired, and the operation defeats the object it 

 is intended to serve. But when branches are merely stopped 

 no loss is incurred ; all that happens is that growth ceases in 

 the direction of the stoppage, and the sap which would have 

 been expended in forming the shoots whose growth is arrested 

 is impelled into other shoots, or, more correctly, into that one 

 which is intended for a leader. But as this is impossible 

 in large plantations, and not very practicable anywhere, rival 

 leaders will be found after many weeks' growth ; in such cases 

 the removal of a terminal bud will not result in the conveyance 

 of food enough into the selected leader. It then becomes 

 necessary to break the young shoots which are superfluous — to 

 break, not to cut, not to break off ; the shoot should be 

 simply snapped across, and allowed to hang downwards from 

 the limb, retaining its vitality 'as long as it can. If the 

 operation is performed skilfully the broken end will remain 

 alive for several weeks. The reason of the practice is this ; 

 if a portion of a growing branch is suddenly removed the buds 

 below it are almost certain to break into secondary laterals, 

 and to consume the sap intended for the leader; but if the 

 branch is broken it slowly consumes the sap that reaches it, 

 prevents the buds below from pushing into laterals, and thus 



